With the launch of any new device, the tech-world rumour mill is permanently on overdrive as users resort to speculating about release dates and features in lieu of the real thing.

The hugely anticipated follow-up to the Xbox 360, the Xbox 720, is no exception. We’ve had all sorts of speculation, but the latest leak is a little different.

In a turn of events that has got the gaming world rather excited, pictures showing what appears to be a devkit for Durango have appeared on a little-known website.

Xbox 720 devkit

Durango is a codename for the Xbox 720, and a devkit – or developer’s kit – is the hardware used to create games for a console.

Not only have photos of the Durango devkit appeared, but the hardware is actually on sale for the bargain price of $10,000 (£6,366). The supposedly leaked snaps appeared on the website ASSEMbler over the weekend, and have prompted excitement and scepticism in equal measure.

Xbox 720 leak – fact?

Any leak or titbit of information about an upcoming product should always be taken with a pinch of salt in the tech world, but this one is a little different.

While the majority of the gaming world would dub the pictures as a clever ruse, insiders at Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry have suggested that the images could be legitimate.

According to the insiders, it was the picture showing a Visual Studio development environment which convinced them that the snaps could be real.

Xbox 720 leak – fiction?

Devkits are often created using off-the-shelf PC components and stored in ordinary PC Towers, giving developers a working idea of the functionality of the console prior to its release.

This means that it is extremely easy to produce a fakery of a devkit, which could be what happened here.

However, while each new leak may be shrouded in doubt, it does mean that the launch date for the Xbox 720 is drawing ever closer.